SAN ANGELO – The winningest season in program history has led the No. 19-ranked Angelo State Rams to their fifth NCAA Division II South Central Championship appearance where they will open the regional tournament against Texas A&M-Commerce at noon on Saturday at Wisdom Gym in Stephenville.

The Rams (26-5) are the sixth seed in the tournament after earning an at-large bid to compete in the eight-team field, while the No. 3-seeded Lions (24-7) took the Lone Star Conference's automatic qualifier with a 68-61 win over ASU in last Saturday's conference final game in Allen. Other first-round matchups on Saturday include No. 2 Metro State vs. No. 7 Midwestern State (2:30 p.m.), No. 1 Tarleton State vs. No. 8 St. Mary's (6 p.m.) and No. 4 Colorado-Colorado Springs vs. No. 5 Colorado School of Mines (8:30 p.m.). The ASU-Commerce winner will advance to the regional tournament's semifinals at 5 p.m. on Sunday against the Metro State-Midwestern State winner. The tournament's championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Wisdom Gym with the winner advancing to the NCAA DII Elite Eight which will be hosted in Evansville, Indiana.

Angelo State has experience a resurgence over the past two seasons under the leadership of head coach Chris Beard and associate head coach Cinco Boone who inherited a program which had gone 7-19 the season before they arrived. In their two seasons, the Rams have amassed a 45-15 record and were ranked as high as No. 4 in the nation this season. ASU has already recorded a historic season with the most wins in a season in program history, along with running off a 16-game winning streak during the course of the campaign. Beard was named the Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year last week and will be looking to lead the Rams to their first Elite Eight in program history with a cast of five seniors, five juniors, one sophomore and one freshman on the active roster. As an assistant at Texas Tech, Beard helped lead Tech to four NCAA tournaments but this will be the first NCAA tournament for all the players on the ASU roster.

The Rams enter the national tournament ranked No. 19 in the NABC poll and are 4-3 this season against teams in the regional field, including a 2-0 record against MSU, a 1-1 record against TSU and a 1-2 record against Commerce. ASU has not played Metro State, UC-Colorado, Mines or St. Mary's this season. The Rams are 2-1 in this year's postseason with wins over Texas A&M-Kingsville (83-73) and Cameron (76-53) in the conference tournament before the loss to Commerce in the finals.
 
ANGELO STATE IN THE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
ASU is 1-5 all-time in the national tournament and will be competing in their first regional tournament since 2009. This will be the first time ASU has played a regional tournament in the state of Texas after previously playing two regional tournaments in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, one in Topeka, Kansas and most recently playing in the 2009 tournament in Warrensburg, Missouri. The only national postseason win for the Rams in program history came in the 1989 tournament when they earned an 89-80 win over Northwest Missouri State in a consolation game at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.
 
ASU AGAINST COMMERCE (ROUND FOUR)
Angelo State is 1-2 against Texas A&M-Commerce this season after falling 68-61 last Saturday to the Lions in the Lone Star Conference Championship finals in Allen. The Rams earned a 79-63 win over Commerce on Jan. 28 in San Angelo before dropping a 71-68 decision in Commerce in the final regular-season meeting between the two teams. ASU is averaging 69.3 points and is shooting 47.0 percent from the field against the Lions this season. This will be the first time ASU and Commerce have met in the NCAA tournament and also the first time the Rams have played a conference opponent in the national tournament.
 
NATIONAL STAT RANKINGS
The Rams enter the NCAA DII South Central Championship leading the nation with a 21.5 scoring margin advantage and are now third in the nation with a 53.1 field-goal percentage and fifth with a 39.3 defensive field-goal percentage. ASU is sixth in the nation with 548 assists and 23rd with 263 steals and its 4.2 turnover margin ranks 14th in the country. A 1.47 turnover-to-assist ratio ranks 11th in the nation along with their 17.7 assists per game average. The Rams are averaging 85.3 points per game which ranks 12th in the nation and is highest-scoring average in the conference.
 
RAM ROSTER REPORT
Chris Jones earned LSC first-team honors after leading the Rams with 152 assists and 70 steals this season to go along with averaging 15.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Jones earned three LSC Defensive Player of the Week honors this season and one LSC Offensive Player of the Week award in a season where he averaged 4.9 assists and 2.3 assists per game which both led the conference. Jones is coming off an eight-assist performance against Commerce in the LSC Championship finals and has recorded four or more assists in 22 games and has had eight assists in four games. He established his career-best in assists with 12 against York College where he also had 16 points for his only double-double of the season. Jones, a senior from Dallas, transferred to Angelo State this season after playing his first three seasons at North Texas. He scored a career-high 25 points in a win over West Texas A&M earlier this season and has scored in double digits in 28 of 31 games. He has scored 20 or more points in eight games, including leading the Rams with 21 points in the quarterfinals of the LSC tournament with 21 points against Texas A&M-Kingsville and then scoring 22 points in the semifinal win over Cameron where he also had five assists and seven rebounds. He was named to the LSC all-tournament team and currently ranks 19th in the nation with his team and conference-leading 59.9 field-goal percentage. Jones has shot over 60 percent in 16 games this season, including shooting 9 of 11 (81.8 percent) against Oklahoma Wesleyan, 7-for-8 (87.5 percent) against ENMU and 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) last Friday against Cameron in the semifinals of the LSC tournament. Jones' 70 steals rank second in program history behind only James Gray who had 81 steals in the 2000-01 season and his 152 assists are the fifth most in a season.

Demario Mayfield enters the NCAA tournament leading the Rams with 15.7 points and 8.1 assists this season and was selected to the LSC first-team and to the conference's all-tournament team. Mayfield also has 123 assists and 47 steals, which ranks second on the team and second in the conference. He has scored in double digits in 28 of 31 games this season, including a season-best 23 points against Midwestern State, Texas-Permian Basin, Western State and Colorado Mesa. He has recorded 11 double-doubles this season, including going for 19 points and 14 rebounds in a quarterfinal win over Texas A&M-Kingsville at the conference tournament. Mayfield is the only LSC player to record a triple-double this season when he had 14 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds in a win over Arlington Baptist. A senior from Royston, Georgia, Mayfield played his freshman season at Georgia and then two seasons at Charlotte before transferring to Angelo State where he is a graduate student. Along with his postseason honors, Mayfield earned two LSC Offensive Player of the Week honors this season and one LSC Defensive Player of the Week honor. He has led the Rams throughout the season in scoring and rebounding and is coming off a 10-point, six-rebound performance against Commerce in the LSC Championship finals. He is averaging 10.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in the first three meetings against the Lions. Mayfield recorded his double-doubles this season against McMurry (14/11), Western State (23/11), UTPB (23/11), at McMurry (11/14), Arlington Baptist (14/10/13), Arkansas-Monticello (17/11), at Midwestern State (20/11), A&M-Commerce (16/11), West Texas A&M (20/13), at Tarleton State (12/13) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (19/14). His 11 double-doubles matches Marcus Hubbard (2005-06) for the third most in ASU's program history and is only behind Ed Wheeler who had 18 double-doubles in the 1992-93 season and 14 in the 1991-92 season. Mayfield is the only player in Angelo State history to record a triple-double.

Marsell Holden has established a new single-season record at Angelo State for 3-pointers and enters the regional tournament with 95 3-pointers after hitting six in the LSC Championship finals last Saturday in Allen. Holden, who is averaging 14.4 points per game, is shooting 43.4 percent from beyond the arc this season and has hit three or more 3-pointers in 19 games this season. His 95 3-pointers leads the LSC and is the 11th most in the nation. He established a career-best with seven 3-pointers in a win over Arkansas-Monticello where he scored 23 points and has drilled six 3-pointers in two games, most recently against the Lions, and also in a game against Cameron where he scored 20 points. Holden had a career-high 26 points earlier this season against Eastern New Mexico where he went 5-for-7 on 3-pointers. A senior from Farrell, Pennsylvania, Holden has also added 37 assists and 33 steals this season. He leads the Rams with 17.3 points per game in the first three games against Commerce. He has scored in double digits in 26 games and has scored 20 or more points in seven games this season. Holden earned one LSC Offensive Player of the Week honor this season and was named an LSC Honorable Mention selection last week.

Raijon Kelly enters the NCAA tournament averaging 10.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists for the Rams this season. Kelly, a senior from St. Paul, Minnesota, is shooting 53.3 percent this season and has recorded 17 double-digit scoring performances this season including a season-best 22 points earlier this season against ENMU. Kelly had a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists against Arkansas Tech earlier this season and had a season-best eight rebounds in a win over Texas A&M-Kingsville. Kelly scored 10 points in the semifinal win over Cameron last Friday in Allen and is averaging 7.3 points per game in the previous three games against Commerce. He leads the Rams by shooting 90.5 percent (38-for-42) from the free-throw line this season and has made 29 3-pointers (41.4 percent) this season. Kelly is in his first season at Angelo State after playing his first three years at Samford University.

Omari Gudul is averaging 7.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for the Rams in 18 starts and 31 games played. Gudul, who is a junior in his second season at ASU, scored 10 points last Wednesday against Kingsville in the quarterfinals of the LSC tournament and has scored in double digits in 10 games this season. He scored a season-best 15 points earlier this season at McMurry and had a season-high nine rebounds at Commerce. A native of the Congo, Gudul is shooting 64.7 percent from the field this season and is tied for the team lead with Bilal Richardson with 22 blocked shots. Richardson, who is also a junior, is averaging 4.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game for the Rams in his first season in San Angelo. An Atlanta native, Richardson recorded a double-double earlier this season with 12 rebounds and 10 points against Arkansas-Monticello and contributed six points at the LSC tournament in the semifinals and finals. Richardson matched his season-best with three blocked shots against the Lions in the finals on Saturday. He has three blocked shots now in three games. For the season, Richardson is averaging 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in games against Commerce. Brentine Taylor has added depth inside all season for the Rams and is averaging 4.7 points and 2.5 rebounds per game entering the NCAA tournament. A Cochran, Georgia native, Taylor scored a season-high 13 points earlier this season at McMurry and had a career-best seven rebounds in a win over ENMU. He has started three games this season and has played in all 31.  Taylor is shooting 57.0 percent from the field this season and has six blocked shots.

Tommy Woolridge and Thomas Brandsma are the only two returners from last year's team who have played for the Rams this season and are both providing valuable minutes as reserves. Woolridge led the Rams last season in 3-pointers made and has hit 27 3-pointers this season and is averaging 4.8 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. Woolridge has hit 64 3-pointers in his two seasons at ASU and scored a season-best 15 points on Senior Day against Texas A&M-Kingsville. He is shooting 42.2 percent from beyond the arc and has also added 25 steals for the Ram defense. Brandsma transferred to ASU last season after playing his freshman season for Beard and Boone at McMurry and is averaging 2.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game this season. A Colleyville native, Brandsma is coming off a LSC finals performance where he had six points and four rebounds against the Lions. A finance major, he earned a spot on the LSC All-Academic team this season. DeQuavious Wagner is in his first season at ASU and has also been a valuable reserve player for the Rams throughout the season. A junior from Alexandria, Louisiana, Wagner is averaging 3.3 points and 1.3 assists per game after transferring from the University of Arkansas. A point guard, he has played in all 31 games this season and has recorded 41 assists and 20 steals for the Rams and scored a career-best 10 points in a win at Western New Mexico. Wagner has made 11 3-pointers this season and is shooting 36-for-76 (47.4 percent) from the field in his first season with the Rams.
 
Rams at the NCAA Tournament (Fifth Trip, 1-5 Overall Record)

1988 Tournament (Cape Girardeau, Missouri)
L, 111-75 Southeast Missouri State
L, 87-84, South Dakota State (Consolation)
 
1989 Tournament (Cape Girardeau, Missouri)
L, 65-60, Southeast Missouri State
W, 89-80, Northwest Missouri State (Consolation)
 
2001 Tournament (Topeka, Kansas)
L, 80-75, Northeastern State
 
2009 Tournament (Warrensburg, Missouri)
L, 89-84, Southwest Baptist
 
Angelo State Postseason Awards
LSC Coach of the Year:  Chris Beard
LSC First Team:  Chris Jones
LSC First Team:  Demario Mayfield
LSC Honorable Mention:  Marsell Holden
LSC All-Academic:  Thomas Brandsma
LSC All-Tournament Team:  Chris Jones
LSC All-Tournament Team:  Demario Mayfield
 
Angelo State In-Season Awards
LSC Defensive Player of the Week:  Chris Jones (11.18.2014)
LSC Offensive Player of the Week:  Demario Mayfield (12.1.2014)
LSC Offensive Player of the Week:  Chris Jones (12.8.2014)
LSC Offensive Player of the Week:  Marsell Holden (12.22/2014)
LSC Defensive Player of the Week:  Chris Jones (1.6.2015)
LSC Defensive Player of the Week:  Chris Jones (1.12.2015)
LSC Defensive Player of the Week:  Demario Mayfield (1.26.2015)
LSC Offensive Player of the Week:  Demario Mayfield (2.09.2015)
 
ANGELO STATE PROGRAM HISTORY
NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances: 5 (1988, 1989, 2001, 2009, 2015)
Lone Star Conference Tournament Titles: 3 (1984, 1988,1989)
Lone Star Conference Tournament Appearances: 28 (1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986,1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993,1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015)
In the NABC National Rankings:  22 (No. 14, Jan. 2, 1984; No. 17, Jan. 9, 1984; No. 13, Jan. 16, 1984; No. 15, Jan. 23, 1984; No. 17, Jan. 30, 1984; No. 25, Feb. 26, 2001; No. 25, Jan. 28, 2002; No. 25, Dec. 16, 2008; No. 23, Feb. 24, 2009; No. 22, Dec. 10, 2013; No. 23, Nov. 25, 2014; No. 22, Dec. 27, 2014; No. 19, Jan. 6, 2015; No. 14, Jan. 13, 2015; No. 11, Jan. 20, 2015, No. 8, Jan. 27, 2015; No. 7, Feb. 3, 2015; No. 4, Feb. 10, 2015; No. 10, Feb. 17, 2015; No. 15, Feb. 24, 2015; No. 17, March 3, 2015; No. 19, March 10, 2015)
In the D2SIDA Media Poll National Rankings: 11 (No. 16, Dec. 2, 2014, No. 19, Dec. 30, 2014; No. 15, Jan. 6, 2015; No. 10, Jan. 13, 2015; No. 8, Jan. 20, 2015; No. 7, Jan. 27, 2015; No. 6, Feb. 3, 2015; No. 4, Feb. 10, 2015; No. 9, Feb. 17, 2015; No. 13, Feb. 24, 2015; No. 15, March 3, 2015)
20-Win Seasons: 5 (26-5; Current); (1983-84, 22-7); (1987-88, 22-11);
(2000-01, 22-8);  (2008-09, 20-9)

TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE LION REPORT
Darrell Williams leads the Lions this season with 18.4 points and 12.2 rebounds per game in his first and only season in Commerce. The LSC's Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, Williams played at Oklahoma State before transferring to A&M-Commerce this season. He also has 22 blocked shots, 23 steals and 49 assists. He was named the to LSC Championship all-tournament team and was the tournament's MVP. LaDon Carnegie is second on the team with 14.7 points per game and is also adding 4.1 rebounds per game and has 41 steals. Carnegie is a strong 3-point shooter who has made 28 shots from beyond the arc this season and also 103 free-throws. Anthony Adams played well against the Rams in the tournament finals and is averaging 11.4 points per game and leads the Lions with 117 assists and 43 steals, while Christian MacCauley is at 9.4 points 5.6 rebounds per game. MacCauley had the game-winning dunk against the Rams in the game played at Commerce and leads the Lions with 52 blocked shots this season.

The Lions have won eight of their last 10 games with their losses coming against Midwestern State and Tarleton State. A&M-Commerce ran through the conference tournament with wins over West Texas A&M, ASU and Tarleton State after falling 68-48 to the Texans in the regular-season finale at Wisdom Gym in Stephenville. The Lions are averaging 78.4 points per game this season and own a plus-7.5 rebounding margin advantage. As a team, the Lions have 128 blocked shots and 205 steals. The team is shooting 45.7 percent from the field and has made 172 3-pointers (34.9 percent). Commerce is 6-0 on a neutral court this season.
 
Lions claim LSC tournament with 68-61 win over Rams (March 7, 2015)
ALLEN – A&M-Commerce claimed the 2015 Lone Star Conference Basketball Championship with a 68-61 win over No. 17 Angelo State on Saturday in the finals of the tournament at the Allen Events Center.

The Rams (26-5) will now wait until 9:30 p.m. on Sunday for the NCAA Division II selection show to see where and who they'll play next week at the South Central Championship. ASU, which is ranked fourth in the region, will need an at-large bid for the tournament while the Lions (24-7) have earned the LSC automatic bid with their fifth tournament championship and first since 2005. The Lions went through West Texas A&M, top-seeded Tarleton State and the Rams to earn the championship. ASU was looking to win its first tournament title since 1989, but instead is now 3-4 all-time in the tournament's final round.

"I thought it was a tale of two halves where we played well defensively to hold them to 20 points and under 30 percent shooting," ASU head coach Chris Beard said. "That gave us a chance to stay in and win the game, but our offense was very inconsistent. The script flipped in the second half with us playing better on offense by shooting over 50 percent with some good shots, but our defense failed us and we couldn't get stops."

Marsell Holden led the Rams with 22 points after going 6-for-12 on 3-pointers, while Demario Mayfield had 10 points and six rebounds. Chris Jones led the Rams with eight assists and scored six points, while Thomas Brandsma and Bilal Richardson had six points each. Jones and Mayfield were both named to the LSC Championships All-Tournament team after leading the Rams to the finals for the first time since 2001.
 
No. 8 Rams extend winning streak to 13 with 16-point win over No. 25 Lions (Jan. 28)
SAN ANGELO –  Demario Mayfield recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds to help lead No. 8/7-ranked Angelo State to a 79-63 Lone Star Conference win over No. 25 Texas A&M-Commerce on Wednesday at the Junell Center.

The Rams (18-1, 6-0 LSC) extended their program-record winning streak to 13 and also improved to 13-0 at home this season by knocking off the Lions (15-4, 4-2 LSC) in a game where they never trailed. ASU, which led 35-32 at halftime, shot 54.5 percent in the second half and owned a 41-34 rebounding-margin advantage in the game. Commerce saw its six-game winning streak end with the loss to ASU which has not dropped a game since Nov. 28. The Rams had a 28-24 advantage in scoring in the paint, including getting 12 points and six rebounds from  Omari Gudul along with  Bilal Richardson going for eight points, five rebounds and a career-best three blocked shots. Brentine Taylor added seven points inside and the Rams remain the only unbeaten team in LSC play.

"I thought our team defense was good tonight to hold an explosive Commerce team in the 60s," ASU head coach  Chris Beard said. "I thought Bilal, Omari and Brentine all played great as a unit. They prepared all week with graduate assistant coach  Peter Kiganya and talked about dealing with Commerce's size. It was a team effort and we don't win that game if our bigs don't play like they did tonight."
 
Lions edge No. 15 Rams in LSC battle in Commerce (Feb. 25)
COMMERCE – The No. 15-ranked Angelo State Rams fell for the second time in a row for the first time this season after taking a 71-68 Lone Star Conference loss to Texas A&M-Commerce on Wednesday at The Field House.

Tied at 68-68, Christian Macauley took a pass from LaDon Carnegie and had the game-winning dunk which was followed by a free throw with two seconds remaining in the game. A half-court attempt from Raijon Kelly fell short for the Rams (23-4, 10-3 LSC) who had a seven-point lead with seven minutes remaining. Kelly had tied the game at 68 with a 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining off an assist from  Demario Mayfield . The Lions (21-6, 9-4 LSC) evened the season-series with the Rams after ASU had taken a 79-63 win on Jan. 28 over Commerce at the Junell Center.

Chris Jones led the Rams with 19 points on a 7-for-14 shooting performance and added two assists and two steals, while  Marsell Holden hit four 3-pointers and went for 16 points.  Raijon Kelly hit three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points and  Omari Gudul had 11 points and led the Rams with nine rebounds. Demario Mayfield was held to four points, but had eight rebounds and six assists.

Most Wins in Program History Reached
26-5       (Current)
22-7       (1983-84)
22-11     (1987-88)
22-8       (2000-01)
20-9       (2008-09)
 
Longest Program Winning Streak Obtained
16           2014-15
10           2013-14
9              1986-87
 
Angelo State Program Records Within Sight

Scoring Average
1967-68                87.6 ppg.
1993-94                86.0
Current                 85.3
1971-72                85.3
1974-75                84.3
1965-66                82.7
 
Field-Goal Percentage
Current                  .531
1987-88                .527
1983-84                .506
1976-77                .492
1974-75                .491
1993-94                .489
2013-14                .464
 
Total Points
2,693                     1987-88
2,645                     Current
2,596                     1984-85
2,474                     2000-01
2,398                     2001-02
2,323                     1993-94
 
3-point Field-Goal Percentage
.417                        1989-90
.390                        Current
.379                        1990-91
.378                        1992-93